At the helm of governance in West Bengal for 34 years, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is set, finally, to face a strong anti-incumbency mood when the state goes to the polls from April 18.
This, despite the fact that Mamata Banerjee and her motley crew of civil servants, theatre personalities and a chamber general secretary have not been able to inspire confidence that anything besides the government will change in Bengal.
The people expect and want little else. “I will vote for change. While I do not believe that Trinamool Congress (TMC) will bring development and growth, I do believe it is time for the communists to go. If voting against them means voting for her, so be it,” said a first-year student of Presidency College.
The intelligentsia-led campaign has made paribartan the buzzword in poll-bound Bengal. The sentiments expressed in Presidency College found resonance in the once strife-stricken Nandigram and Singur. Residents across the spectrum, from businessmen to farmers, say they want change.
Employment and industry, as reflected in Banerjee’s manifesto, are important with the state topping the national list for unemployed people. According to a 2010 statistic, about 6.4 million people are unemployed in West Bengal.
Absence of growth
For the Rs 1,200-crore, Kolkata-based, Keventer Group chairman, M K Jalan, the wish-list includes a move on from stagnation and slow growth to rejuvenation of industry in the state, to be heralded through “change”.
“A clamour for change is in the air. By the day, it is gaining ground and crescendo. It is bringing with it the hope of a re-awakening, leading to the restoration of all that was good and laudable about Bengal and Calcutta,” he said.
Where Jalan looks set to embrace change, other industry stalwarts like Ambuja Realty chief Harshvardhan Neotia appear more guarded, even as they accept that problems of land would dominate issues of development. “Land is a national issue, and while industry has improved, given the Buddhadeb government’s efforts, there is still a lot to be desired. The fact that no big-ticket investment is in sight is worrying. Which party is capable of changing that would affect the vote,” he said.
One of the several problems is Banerjee’s record. While her manifesto might come across as a blueprint for industrial growth, the jury appears to be out on whether or not this would translate into effective administration.
Ironically, the thinking individual in urban Bengal, traditionally the antithesis of the rural red bastion, will be the pendulum to watch out for. Kolkata and its satellite townships of Rajarhat and Salt Lake might vote for change but apprehensions are manifest. “Mamata Banerjee is good at making tall claims. Unfortunately for us, these do not come true, more often than not,” said Abhay Upadhyay, a businessman at Salt Lake’s sector V.
Other issues
Keeping anti-incumbency and development as the constant, local group issues will make their presence felt as well. Predominant among these are caste and religion and trade unions. Trade unions will, it seems, stay loyal to the Left.
“They have been good for us. They are like us and they understand us. We will vote for them and no one else,” said a worker at the Madras Cement factory at Haldia.
As for minorities, both TMC and CPM are vying for the vote. The state government has more than doubled the budget outlay for madrasa education, from Rs 121 crore to Rs 300 crore.
